President Donald Trump is promising “very substantial relief” to both businesses and individuals who suffer financially as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
Trump said he would meet with congressional leaders on Tuesday to discuss a payroll tax cut.
“We’re also going to be talking about hourly wage earners getting help so that they can be in a position where they’re not could ever miss a paycheck to be working with companies and small companies, large companies, a lot of companies so that they don’t get penalized for something that’s not their fault,” Trump told reporters on Monday evening in the White House briefing room.
With stock prices plunging amid an oil price war and the coronavirus crisis, Trump met Monday afternoon with his economic advisers, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who presented him with policy options to counter the quickly emerging threats to the economy.
“The economy will be in very good shape a year from now,” predicted Mnuchin, who took questions from reporters, alongside Vice President Mike Pence, after a brief appearance by Trump in the press briefing room.
Trump announced a news conference would be held at the White House on Tuesday that will focus on economic measures.
The U.S. travel industry, which annually generates more than $1.6 trillion in economic output and is expected to suffer substantially because of the coronavirus outbreak, is one key area of the administration’s relief efforts.
